Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune – Jim Rohn

In this “My Scooter Sunday”, I build on my basic route from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur via Bangsar to Jalan Raja Chulan, Jalan P. Ramlee and onto my final destination at Jalan Ampang.

Today, I start my road playlist with “Money” by Pink Floyd (1965 British rock group), which is an “ode to the almighty dollar” (London, 2021). The lyrics goes like this: “New car, caviar, four-star, daydream. Think I’ll buy me a football team”.

The mansion at 109 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur was built by the late tycoon, Eu Tong Sen. And his life story begins with his father, Eu Kong, leaving southern China in 1873 for Penang, Malaya. In 1877, Eu Kong’s wife, Leong Lay Yong, gave birth to their only son, Eu Tong Sen and the young family moved to Gopeng, Perak.

Eu Kong believed that by dispensing quality medicine, and herbs, he could cure tin miners of their opium addiction. Soon after their move to Gopeng, Eu Kong set-up his first Chinese traditional medicine shop; he called it “Yan Sang”, which in Chinese means “caring for mankind”.

In 1890, Eu Kong died, and Eu Tong Sen inherited his father’s estate. At that time, he was 13, and he was studying in Foshan, China. But because his step-mother, Mun Woon Chang (an important Peranakan businesswoman), wanted him to get a Western education, he returned to Malaya.

In Penang, Eu Tong Sen lived with Penang Free School Head Master, R. Butler, and studied under F.W. Farley. “He became fluent in English and developed an appreciation for European culture, later manifested in his taste for horse racing, cars and dog rearing as well as elements of European architecture in the mansions he built”. (Chung, 2005)

In 1898, at the age of 21, Eu Tong Sen took over his father’s business. Realising his father’s business was in decline, he started prospecting for new tin. It is said, that he made daily prospecting trips, starting at 5 am each morning and travelling through the jungle on elephant back before returning to work at Yan Sang before daybreak. (Sharp, 2009)

In his third year of prospecting, he finally hit pay dirt. Given his Western influence, Eu Tong Sen invested in Western machinery, such as the hydraulic system to mine tin. At the peak of his mining career, Eu Tong Sen had 11 mines and employed over 12,000 miners. And because tin prices doubled, his wealth multiplied. It is said that each mine brought him, annually, one million dollars in revenue. But the advent of the bucket dredge system burst his tin bubble. So, he diversified into rubber, hit a rubber boom, and became one of the richest men in Malaya. (Sharp, 2009)

The medicine shops were also doing well. Under the family name of Eu Yan Sang, he opened medicine shops in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. These shops also became natural places for miners to remit money back to their families at home.

By 1914, Eu Tong Sen expanded his remittance business in Malaya, Hong Kong, and southern China. Revenue-wise, it had grown from HK$33,000 in 1914 to HK$3 million in 1935. So, to better manage this business, Eu Tong Sen moved to Hong Kong. But there were other reasons for his move; he was in poor health, and his products in Malaya faced a boycott because of his neutral political stance.

It is said that Eu Tong Sen shared the same birthday as Lo Pan, the Chinese patron saint of builders and contractors. And Eu Tong Sen was advised by his grandfather and a fortune-teller that he could live longer if he engaged in big construction projects. (Chung, 2005)

In 1935, Eu Tong Sen built the mansion at 109, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, which now houses the Malaysia Tourism Information Centre. He also built many other opulent buildings, and villas in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. Among them were Eucliff, Euston and Sirmio in Hong Kong, and Eu Villa, the Great Southern Hotel, Eu Court, and the Majestic Theatre in Singapore.

Lo Pan kept Eu Tong Sen going until 11 May 1941; he died in Sirmio Manor in Hong Kong at the age of 63, survived by 13 sons, 11 daughters, and 11 wives! At the time of his death, his assets were valued at more than 50 million Straits dollars; 60% of his assets went to taxes, and the remaining 40% was divided equally among his 13 sons. (Sharp, 2009)

Talking about rich tin miners, my mother said, ”My father’s gambling partner was a tin miner. And whenever the tin miner got tired of the poker game, he would ask my father to take over. This would mean taking over his winnings too. So, on those nights, my father would come home with a fistful of dollars".

In this “My Scooter Sunday”, I picked-up the Federal Highway from Kuala Lumpur, and rode it all the way back to Petaling Jaya. My roundtrip is 25 km, and an hour long; I am now more comfortable riding JuJu (my Vespa Primavera) at high speeds. But what I enjoyed most was riding the highway, and mining the Eu Tong Sen story!

Scootin’ off for now!